Apple Phone Sales Appear To Be Steady Ahead Of September Launch

Sales of Apple's iPhones appear to have been "resilient" and sell through share appears steady last month, even as many consumers seem to be waiting for the new iPhone release in September, Canaccord Genuity analysts said Wednesday. They estimate that Apple Inc. brought in 64% of industry profits in July, helped by carrier promotions, but down from 84% in its March quarter. Apple's sales took a hit from Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S8 phone and steady results from Chinese phone companies. However, they see Apple's new cycle of iPhones in September bringing Apple to 46.5 million iPhone units sold and leading Apple to increase its market share in calendar year 2018. In addition to strong sales of Apple's iPhone 8, they expect strong sales of 7S Plus models. They maintained a buy rating and $180 price target. Shares of Apple have gained 6.4% in the past month, while the S&P 500 has lost 1%.